Fabrics to suit every summer activity: Stay comfortable in good designs and high-tech textiles

By TOM MEADE

Sunday

Jun 30, 2013 at 12:01 AM

No matter hot it is or how active you are this summer, you can stay cool, dry and free of bugs and odor, thanks to textile technology. Keeping cool starts with your underwear, says Mary Beth Flood of Ure...

No matter hot it is or how active you are this summer, you can stay cool, dry and free of bugs and odor, thanks to textile technology.

Keeping cool starts with your underwear, says Mary Beth Flood of Ure Outfitters in Hope Valley. Underpants, bras and T-shirts should wick perspiration away from your skin. Shorts and skorts for running, tennis and other sports usually have built-in liners to keep you cool. More hiking shorts and pants for men now have the liners, too.

Several outdoor-apparel manufacturers, including The North Face, Rab and others, make garments of polypropylene, polyester and other synthetic blends that pull perspiration away from skin.

The North Face also makes clothing for runners, as do Brooks, Nike, Asics and other athletic brands. In many cases, a garment’s design is as important as its fabric to keep you cool, says Patrick Moulton, manager of the Rhode Runner store in Providence.

Look for ventilation panels at and below armpits and along the spine. Moisture-attracting fabrics pull perspiration away from the skin to the garment’s outer surface where it evaporates, and micro-vents allow fresh air to reach the skin to cool it. “Air flow is really important,” Moulton says.

He points to a handsome shirt in a display and says, “That fabric is really efficient at wicking away moisture, but it doesn’t have much ventilation, so I use it as casual wear, but not for running.”

Shirts and jackets for backpacking, biking and competitive sports also should be vented, says Flood. Otherwise, they feel clammy on a hot day.

Polypropylene isn’t what it used to be, says Flood. It’s better. She lifts a Rab T-shirt from a rack and explains that anti-bacterial “nanoparticles” of silver are built into the fabric to stop stink. The molecular-sized silver slices are also used in socks, pillows, bedding and fabrics of other products.

One of Rhode Runner’s specialties is sports-bra fitting, and the store’s signature bra brand is Moving Comfort with DriLayer Power, a wicking feature, says Moulton. Moving Comfort also makes tops, but, in hot weather, many runners and gym rats wear the bra alone to keep cool. The bras are available in a variety of colors and designs.

If you do wear a shirt or jacket over a wicking undergarment, be sure the outer garment does not trap perspiration. For athletes, Moulton says, “Cotton is rotten.”

More manufacturers are making summer active wear treated with permethrin to repel mosquitoes, ticks, ants, flies, chiggers and midges. Ex Officio’s BugsAway line will cover you from hat to socks, and the repellent is effective through 70 washings, Flood says.

Insect Shield was a pioneer in developing tick-repellent apparel. It is endorsed by the “URI Tick Guy,” Thomas Mather, a University of Rhode Island professor and researcher who specializes in tick-borne diseases. He calls Insect Shield “an important new way to help keep children as safe as possible from biting ticks and insects whenever playing outdoors, camping or hiking. … Insect Shield is a new technology that builds insect repellency directly into children’s and adult’s clothes. … All you have to do is wear the clothing.” (Results of URI research on tick-repelling summer-weight apparel are available at tickencounter.org.)

InsectShield is used in other products, too, including sleeping-bag liners, blankets and bandanas.

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